WRESTLING COLUMNS

Who Should Go?March 31, 2005 by Joe L.

The WWE has the deepest roster pool in the world but 40% of the roster are substandard performers, mediocre wrestlers and athletes that are as green as a clover leaf. If I were in charge of the WWE and I had to decide who should go (or be improved), then here's who I would choose:

1. Undertaker -
The Undertaker is like the Dusty Rhodes of the WWE: an obnoxious, self-centered, deteriorating wrestler whose bigger-than-life ego has destroyed careers and made himself much better than anyone. His refusal to job is a pathetic stroke of ego, his "respectful" agenda is disgusting and his no-selling character is as stale as a four-year old London broil steak. I would send this overbearing slug packing and never re-sign him to a new contract again.

2. Gene Snitsky -
The guy was at first tolerable during his feud with Kane but his crappy move set, I.Q.-insulting interviews and occasional sloppiness has changed my mind gracefully. His jobbing to Shelton Benjamin in 3 minutes as opposed to his jobbing to Kane in 14 minutes pretty much tells the story: the guy should be sent the OVW for improvement.

3. Rene Dupree -
Dupree's career is pretty much dead on water when he was considered the Undertaker's sacrifice a week ago on SmackDown!. Aside from that, his success in SmackDown! has been less than stellar; aside from his profile feud with John Cena, the guy has been squashed by not just Cena, but also RVD, Booker T, Paul London, Hardcore Holly and even Charlie Haas. His in-ring performance has been clipped and his gimmick so saturated with staleness it makes the Undertaker look like Lenny & Lane. Dupree, unlike Snitsky, has potential and if he goes to OVW, his potential would be fulfilled.

4. Hardcore Holly -
Or should I say Sparky Plugg? This muscle-headed idiot has done absolutely nothing in the WWE and has never been taken seriously. His main event push was a failure people saw coming and he has legitimately injured many wrestlers in house shows and backstage (ala Rene Dupree). Holly has, is and will always be considered an average midcarder, regardless of the original gimmicks he gets. He has also outlived his usefulness and does nothing but whine like a baby backstage. I would take this temper-throwing whiner and fire his ass pronto.

5. Scotty 2 Hotty -
Didn't this guy get huge pops when he teamed with Brian Christopher during 2000? Or was it just another person I mistakenly identified? Scotty went from being an entertaining tag wrestler to a total loser on Velocity. Amazing how one person's career can fall so gracefully. His finishing move (W.O.R.M.) is stupid in the same mold as Hulk Hogan's legdrop and the heat has been reduced to zero degrees. If he gets repackaged as a heel, he might be taken seriously but I see no hope in the future for him. Consider his career over in my eyes.

6. Chris Masters -
A perfect representation of what happens when over exceeding hype can sometimes be a downfall; Masters, after all the ridiculous video packages, after all the overlong promos, is nothing more than a green wrestler; when the only good thing that can be said about him is his size, you know he really sucks. His stamina is a drop-dead low, his charisma makes Goldberg sound like The Rock, his sloppiness injured Steven Richards and his finishing move is a frickin' full nelson. Next stop: Unemployment.

7. Simon Dean -
I don't see why people considered Simon Dean a great athlete just because he worked for ECW. Over 65% of the roster were mindless brawlers whose only attribute was fan support and rookies who borrowed moves from wrestlers. In other words, Simon Dean (or Nova in ECW) has never had any potential of being a future star. Unless they improve his wrestling qualities (which I think should he go to OVW, it will happen), he has nothing to go for. The gimmick showcased his generic offense and the fact he is considered a future really puzzles me. The future of this business?!!! Please!!!

8. The entire DIVA Search Contestants -
The first sign of the Apocalypse was achieved when most of the Women's Division were fired and were replaced by a bunch of talentless morons whose only contribution to this sport is to show their knockers. I mean, seriously, what was the whole point of all the retarded DIVA segments all summer when all you're going to do is hire every single one of them in the end to begin with? The Women's Division needs an enema, pronto, and having some girls you pick up from the streets without seeing their talent (or lack of) isn't going to solve anything.

10. Mark Jindrak -
The Kerry Von Erich of 2005. A fist shot as a finisher? Give me a break. Jindrak had potential when he was part of the Natural Born Thrillers but here, he has no personality, draws no heat, has no charisma on the mic and has no business going over the likes of Eddie Guerrero or Booker T. This guy should be jobbing to midcarders and not be seen in front of a televised audience. Some training in OVW should do him well.

11. Muhammad Hassan -
Speaking of jobbers, we have this. Hassan, while gaining lots of heel heat, is supremely green in the ring. He blows a couple of spots like Gene Snitsky and one of his finishers is a faceplant. Yet he gets to go over the likes of Chris Jericho and lose in a screwy fashion to Chris Benoit, even though his in-ring work is extremely sloppy and that the one of the main reasons for his push is his size. The real talent is Davari and he's his manager. Have Hogan squash this loser and hopefully, he'll go away for good.

12. Heindenreich -
Regardless of how it's spelled, the name translates to the term "crap". Heindenreich is an example of what is wrong with this business: no matter how much he sucks, he'll always be on TV or on a pay-per-view event where he doesn't belong. His mind-numbingly horrendous interviews, terrible matches, atrocious wrestling skills and lethargic size exemplify the description perfectly. Wherever you may look at it, Heindenreich has no business being in the ring or even in a promotion period. He achieves the awfulness in the same league as Giant Gonzales where the only reason of having a job is his size. He can't even perform moves perfectly either: when you can't even do a big boot, then you really need to quit. Even if Heindenreich were hit by a truck, no one would care and to be honest, neither would I.

13. John Cena -
This was a tough one to choose primarily because Cena is over with the fans that it's debatable on rather he should stay or not. Personally, I feel uncomfortable because Cena's merchandise is selling tremendously and that his disappearance could affect SmackDown!. But there's no excuse for his degrading brawling when he should be going back to wrestling basics he learned when he was a heel. Cena's FU is one of the worst death valley drivers I've seen and the Five-Knuckle Shuffle defines lame in several definitions. His promos, while better than last year, no have edge at all and neither does his character. One minute, he's a smart rebel, the next, a juvenile punk that acts like a six-year old. Cena does needs to vanquish his substandard in-ring move set in order to gain back some admiration from the fans on the Internet. Until then, it's a nada. Extra work to OVW is helpful and a perfect time to do this is during Cena's movie time.

Laurens Fuchs wrote:
Well, you're gonna be getting soooo flamed for what you said about the Undertaker, I can predict that right now. While I don't necessarily agree with everything on the list, I think some valid points were made. And I just love your style of writing.... great and dynamic. More of that please..... until then, I picked my favorite lines....
Cmbriggswwe wrote:
You are Crazy The Undertaker is one of the the top guys on the wwe roster.Snitsky,Dupree, Holly, Dean, and Hassan are decent guys

Heidenriech,jindrak,tomko, some diva search girls, and masters should go to OVW

i do think Val Venis, scotty 2 hotty Kenzo suzuki and i'm not sure between viscera and steven richards should get cut
Andrew Weaver wrote:
In response to number one on your list, the
Undertaker...WHAT!?!?
Obnoxious...self-centered...refusal to job? Question:
how many times have you been dropped on your head?
Taker has a reputation for being one of the least
egotistical workers in the business. He helped put
over Mankind, Kane, Austin, and coming up at
Wrestlemania, Orton. One of the great things about
Taker is his persona. Even with the Deadman gimmick
he has had for 14 1/2 years, he has managed to keep it
fresh and popular with the fans. You are one of the
only people in all my years following wrestling that
has had any negative opinion about the Undertaker.
Ask just about anyone else and they'll back me up.
Next time you have a thought, just let it go.
Jack Malone wrote:
I agree with a lot of what you said Joe. WWE does need to try and lose some of it's dead weight.

I don't think many would agree that it's time for the Undertaker to move on but personally, I would. WWE has done about as much as they can with Taker. His character is starting to feel stale and quite frankly he needs to retire. Since "returning from the dead" last year at Wrestlemania, he hasn't been pinned even once to put anyone over. That is not the common thing to do when nearing retirement. Hopefully, Orton will go over at this year's Wrestlemania.

I also agree that the likes of Snitzky, Tomko and Heidenreich are a complete waste of TV time. They are just three more generic hosses with the same generic hoss gimmick. Plus, it says it all when the most talented of the three is Heidenreich. I wouldn't care if I never saw any of these three on TV again, in fact I'd prefer it. But not caring if they got mowed down by a bus? Well I wouldn't go that far...

I too feel that Masters and Holly need to go. Masters is painfully dull to watch in the ring but has managed to injure several opponents. As for Holly, I have no idea why he is still employed. He is not talented enough to ever warrant a push and in spite of this he goes around deliberately injuring colleagues. What kind of a team player is he?

Where the diva search contestants are concerned, I'm 100% behind you. I mean what are they for? There's only so many times people will tune in to see Candice, Joy and the rest strutting about. If they were going to do anything interesting with these girls, like being valets, I would say they should be saved but right now, they can take a hike.

On the other hand, I do disagree to an extent with some of your ideas for potential firings:
-|- With Scotty, I guess I don't care one way or the other. His wrestling is decent but his gimmick is awfully stale. They had a chance to reunite Too Cool last year, but instead they thought Brian Christopher would cut it in solos action. Didn't work out. I'd like to see Scotty stay, but he desperately needs a new gimmick.
-|- Jindrak I feel could be good in tag action. He's been impressive teaming with Cade and Reigns. Had WWE left him with one of these two instead of needlessly splitting them, he could have been a tag team champion. If they can find him another strong partner, he could stay.
-|- I can't say I've been very impressed with Dean or Hassan so far, but they do have potential. They just need to go back to OVW for a short while and return with better gimmicks.
-|- I feel Durpree should definitely be kept on. His wrestling can be entertaining and although his gimmick is quite stereotype, I like it. If they can make him less "anti-american" and more of just a cocky frenchman, he could become a success.
-|- And Cena I feel should definitely stay on. Ok, his wrestling isn't what it used to be and his mic work has been slightly lackluster as of late. But at the end of the day, he is very over. He is a big draw and that's what WWE needs right now.
ShaunCl wrote:
Are you stupid. You call Taker egotistical. Hes been in the WWE for 15 bloody years. He draws crowds. Cena is a big pull and is actually enjoyable to watch. Hardcore Holly. The guy has guts to come back from neck surgery and you pounce on the poor guy. Hassan is a great Hell though i agree he needs to work on his skills. mant of these guys are there to be squashed, thats why there there. Shame on you for insulting Taker, Cena and Hardcore. Why dont you put your fricken neck and body on the line nearly every night and see if you can do any better.
Eroslevel6 wrote:
First of all, although the gimmick is extremely lame, Simon Dean (Nova) is amazing in the ring. He should definitely stay and work his ECW style to Vince's boring, monotonous style of wrestling. Taker and Cena are huge draws, and with the WWE being a business, also should stay. Holly used to be good, but as injury prone as he is, should go. Jindrak, Hassan and Dupree have potential, and like you said should be in OVW. But youre right on the money with Snitsky, Masters, Heiden-whatever, Tomko, Scotty 2 Lame and the Diva crap. We get it Vince, theyre big. Scotty can flop around like a fish. And the pretty girls have nice boobs. But they couldnt wrestle their way out of a wet paper bag. And Masters should have been fired for that stunt on Richards. And while we're at it, get rid of Suzuki, Reigns, the Bashams and Carlito. What has the WWE become?
Jesse L. wrote:
Oh my god, Joe, what is your deal? Do you hate everyone or do you just have something stuck up your backside?

First of all, Undertaker is among the most respectful wrestlers in the world today. I doubt he is self-centered, in fact, he enjoys helping wrestlers push themselves to the top. He doesn't need to do it by losing match after match after match, all he needs is an interesting angle. Here's the angle, his match against Orton. After Taker beats Orton, Randy can go to Smackdown and continue the feud or perhaps WWE could bring in a monster, like Mankind, to get inside Taker's head. My chosen would by Abyss from TNA. Abyss may not be a very technical wrestler, but all he needs is that finisher of his and a good manager to push him.

Snitsky isn't impressive, I know. His promos stink the house, yes.. but he has a brawling ability that could appear to make him look dangeorus. Batista is the Animal and Kane is the monster and considered one of the most dangerous, but Snitsky has potential to be one those opponents no one would want to meet. I admit his loss to Benjamin after a possible interesting feud was career damaging, but Snitsky still has time to improve himself.

Jindrak's finisher is ok. Boxers have one hit knock outs and punches that hurt like hell WHILE wearing pads, why can't a wrestler use a punch? Chances are if he's allowed to KO someone with a punch, he can really punch pretty hard. I enjoy seeing a finihser like that, shows that a wrestler doesn't need some crazy-ass spin or flipping move to finish someone off.

Rene Dupree is young, he has time to improve himself and his career. He doesn't have to change his views or his gimmick. He only needs to be given more air time and better chances to wrestle.

Hardcore Holly I admit is stale, but he doesn't need to be fired. He's been a loyal worker for Vince and lost whenever he was asked to. He's a tag team specialist and really, I think this Hass/Holly team is a possible pusher.

In fact, the only one I agree here is the Diva Search. They're a bunch of no-talent and can't really do anything right. Christy is learning to be a wrestler so she's free of my badmouthing, but she's subject to it if she actually beats Trish without cheating. As for Amy Webber, she's a valet to a wrestler which is ok with me. The others are just eye candy and should be fired.
nathan jones wrote:
I am going to start off by saying that you are completely correct. The Undertaker is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, however i do think he should go, but not because of the facts you gave, but because of his age and newly found boringness. Next, Gene Snitsky, who yes should be sent back to OVW, should definantly go. He is completely boring. Rene Dupree, I agree 100%. Like I wrote a few days ago in response to Why SD! is the Best, he was good on RAW, but on SD! his career has gone downhill. Hardcore Holly is a bully who needs to be fired, in my opinion on live TV on a show other than a WWE show. I use to like Scotty 2 Hotty, but I totally agree with you. Same goes for Simon Dean and the DIVA search contestants. However, when we get down to Jindrak, Hassan, Heidenreich, and Cena, I must disagree. Jindrak is good enought that he could be great. OVW would do him alot of good. Tomko, who is starting to grow on me, just needs to get away from Christian and use his "Im a bad ass in a pissed off mood" look and style to his advantage. Heidenreich needs to be kept around to be squashed. Cena just gives SD! some humor so I can put up with him. They need to stay while these guys need to go: Viscera, Val Venis, and JBL. Viscera needs to lose some weight and learn to wrestle, Venis died after the RTC got ahold of him and JBL is just terrible to have around. I liked Farooq better than I liked him. Those are who, in my opinion need to go.
Margaret Bradley wrote:
OK, I Agreed with What you said about The Undertaker. It took guts to bring that subject up at risk of being flamed. I however disagree with you completely about what you said about Mark Jindrak and Nova. First of all, you're comment about ECW wrestlers was entirely wrong. There were plenty of wrestlers in ECW that weren't "mindless brawlers." Clearly you never got into it. As a matter of fact, it's dying days were more lucharesu than anything else. Here are some examples:

C.W. Anderson; Great Technical grappler. Could Brawl with the best of them, but had the ability to wrestle.

Chris Benoit; Surely enough said. A World-Class all rounder with the technical ability to take anyone to the limit.

Chris Candido; Another fine athlete, could trade submission holds like no tomorrow.

Steve Corino; A fine all round wrestler. I suggest you watch some of his work from mid 2000, he was a unique wrestler.

Simon Diamond; Also a good all rounder with the ability to work a crowd with his natural charisma.

Julio Dinero; TNA fans will know he can brawl and use his speed to his advantage. Good all rounder.

Juvi Guerrera; One of the best high fliers around today. Great athletic ability in this one.

Eddie Guerrero; World-Class all rounder also. Great talent who could fly and swap submissions with other guys.

Is that 35% of their roster? Much more. Mark Jindrak is a fine athlete, and to judge him based on a finisher a promotion renowned for mis-using their finest talents, is unfair. Rene Dupree is a good athlete, and with a little grooming could become a legitimate US title contender. Hardcore Holly, I agree, is nothing more than a stiff, unprofessional asshole, to put it nicely. Scotty 2 Hotty is a great wrestler who was wasted for years, despite his talent and charisma. The Diva Search girls need to go, and John Cena has the charisma of a dead dog. Most of you're decisions were fair and were backed up well. Good column, I saw no biased and you had the balls to step up and said what needed to be said. I look forward to more from you in the future. And before I go, I have one more thing to say:
Vivan C. wrote:
Well I am a great fan of OWW.and has been reading the articles for quite a long time. This is my first comment ever on any article.

Joe ,i really cant support you for the coiches you made such as Taker,Cena and Hassan.

I agree taker is old and maybe in few years we wont see him in the ring.But that will be a great lose to the wrestling world.Just for your information the impact that Taker has made in this buisness is more than anybody(hogan apart).Ask anybody in the world ,even though the person has zero knowledge of professional wrestling,he will definetly know one name that is UNDERTAKER.

As for Cena ,he is the top gun in the buisness right now.May be his wrestling skills are not that good,But he really connects to the fan.And remember one thing this buisness strives only because of the fan base.Every other thing is secondary.

As for Hassan he is nice wrestler.He is doing his job in a great way .As for his skills ,it will get developed in time.Remember he is only 23.And may be Hassan is a future champ!!.
Susan wrote:
I TOTALLY agree with your number 8 selection, please for God's sake get rid of all of the damn DIVA girls!!!!! ALL of them! They're horrible on the mic, especially the one they have doing the backstage interviews (I can't remember her name), they can NOT wrestle, and if I have to sit through another "cat fight", or arm wrestling contest, or swimming pool chicken fight on a PPV, I'll DIE!!!! I'm hoping Trish will SQUASH Christy and embarrass her at WM21, and then she will go away. Candace Michelle, Melia, and the blond girl (name?) are painful to watch and listen to. Also add Torrie Wilson & Dawn Marie to that list as well. I would put Stacy on it too, but I think she is getting better on the mic, and has always been a decent valet. The only women I want to see on RAW or Smackdown are the ones who can WRESTLE, like Trish, Lita, and Molly...Victoria is okay but needs some work...there were more to THIS list, but WWE in their infinite wisdom, got rid of all those women already........(Gail Kim, Jacqueline, Jazz)
Joe L. wrote:
Wow, I expected controversy but not this much. Just because I write about people who should go away or improve doesn't mean I ever disliked them. I personally like John Cena, even though he needs to move away from his generic brawling methods and focus on hard-hitting wrestling. Plus any guy that admits that he needs improvement earns my respect. I used to like the Undertaker for being a bad ass in the late 90’s and I found Holly’s antics entertained when he had the Super Heavyweight gimmick. But when years change, so do my feelings and opinions on certain wrestlers and that’s why I look at wrestlers differently today than I was back in 90’s or last year by any means.

I did not write this to make you all look like morons. I'm happy over the fact that you guys expressed your feelings towards my article. Because that's what makes articles on wrestling websites so interesting: people debate over whether or not anything they write is true or just an attempt to act like a jerk. Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not forcing you to change your minds about your wrestlers but I have opinions, too and I also have a different view on certain wrestlers I like, dislike or both. Much like how I respect Shawn Michaels for his awesome workrate but despised him for his political mindgames. Also, I like the Rock, even though people criticized him for selling out to go Hollywood. I might've went too far with Hassan and Undertaker, so my apologies to anyone offended by what I said. But still, I don't write articles to showcase my negative attitude towards wrestling. I just write to express my views on wrestling in general. So please, don't write slurs like how I'm "stupid" and "ignorant" about wrestling when in fact, I know a lot about the sport more than you think. Besides, you want to talk controversy...wait until you read my next article.
Jason Parker wrote:
I strongly agree with of your choices(Snitsky,
Heiden-wreck, Masters, Scotty, Hardcore, The Divas,
The Dude formerly known as Travis Bane). I think that
The Undertaker, Scotty, and Hardcore should hang it up
while the "genius" WWE creative staff should develop
Jindrak, Hassan, and Dupree more. Cena is alright
despite having limited wrestling skills. The WWE
should have kept Simon's ECW gimmick as Nova to either
combat or complement The Hurricane. As much as I like
women, the Divas are a waste of time. I also think
that the others are just liabilities.
lia andreotta wrote:
i definitely agree with all the dive search contestants being let go. most of the boys in my class watch wrestling, and all they talk about is "that bitch is hot" "show your tits!". me being 13, and wanting to be a wrestler, they are really discouraging, when i know i can kick all there asses. the WWE seriously needs female talent that can wrestle. what the hell happened to victoria, molly holly, and lita? they're all great wrestlers, but lita is injury prone. molly got fires, victoria disappeared, and lita is edge slut. wtf??
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